Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog

About the Southern Mountain Yellow-legged Frog

The southern mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), formerly known as the mountain yellow-legged frog, is a species of true frog endemic to California in the United States. It occurs in the San Jacinto Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, and San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California and the Southern Sierra Nevada. It is a federally listed endangered species, separated into two distinct population segments (DPS): a northern DPS, listed endangered in 2014, and a southern DPS that was listed endangered in 2002.

Populations formerly classified as Rana muscosa in the northern Sierra Nevada have since been redescribed as a new species: Rana sierrae, the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog. The Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog has also been classified as a federally endangered species since 2014. The mountains separating the headwaters of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Kings River mark the boundary between the ranges of the two species.

Rana muscosa is 4 to 8.9 centimetres (1.6 to 3.5 in) long. Females tend to be larger than males. Its color and patterning are variable. It is yellowish, brownish, or olive with black and brown markings. The underside of its hind... Wikipedia →